Google Countersues Epic For Allegedly Breaching Their Play Store Contract

So Apple and Epic’s lawsuit has more or less come to an end, and now it looks like Epic might have to go back to court again, but this time they will be facing off against Google. This is according to a report from ZDNet who is reporting that Google has filed a countersuit against Epic for allegedly breaching its Play Store contract.

While Apple VS Epic has more or less dominated the headlines, Epic had actually gone after both Apple and Google for essentially the same thing, where Epic felt that the cut that both companies take from apps and in-app purchases was too high.

In this countersuit against Epic, Google claims that “Epic has alternatively been unjustly enriched at Google’s expense.” This is because what Epic did was they offered gamers an alternate method of payment for in-app purchases while remaining in the Play Store.

Google points out, “Consumers and developers don’t have to use Google Play, they choose to use it when given a choice among Android app stores and distribution channels. Google supports that choice through Android itself, Google Play’s policies, and Google’s agreements with developers and device manufacturers.”

This means that Google doesn’t take issue with Epic using alternative payments, but this needs to be done outside of the Play Store. For example, Epic can distribute an Android version of Fortnite, but if they plan to use their own payments system, this version of the app cannot be distributed through the Play Store.

As such, Google is now seeking compensation from Epic for the amount they “lost” from users who might have used Epic’s own payment system through the Play Store-downloaded app.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gaming, General
Tags: Android, Apps, epic, fortnite battle royale, Google, Legal